Workers of the Lohporya Tea Estate here caught three Leopard cubs today. Later they were handed over to the Forest Department which released them at a safer spot. Assistant Conservator of Forests Gunin Saikia said in view of the increased man-leopard conflict in which many leopards had been killed in the district in the last few years, the Forest Department was considering relocating the three cubs to another place. But since the cubs were too small to be separated from their mother, they were released nearby. It may be mentioned that in the last couple of years as many as 45 leopards have been killed and three persons have lost their life in leopard attacks in Sivasagar and Jorhat districts. The increase in the leopard population has resulted in villages surrounding the Gibbon Wildlife facing attacks by the big cats and a loss of cattle and poultry by the villagers.